The Way Fate Works
by FabledOrange
Summary: Narumi Ayumu suddenly finds himself the center of everyone’s attention even though he avoids being such a thing. Now he must avoid everybody at all costs if he wants to stay…er…alive. Ayuhiyo


The Way Fate Works

Author's notes: This is my first try in making Spiral fanfiction. I haven't watched the last and very final episode (due to the unavailability of fansubs) and I'm still wondering whether Madoka really left Ayumu or what. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this piece of work, and please, review. Thanks.

Summary: Narumi Ayumu suddenly finds himself the center of everyone's attention even though he avoids being such a thing. Now he must avoid everybody at all costs if he wants to stay…er…alive. 

*~*~*~*~*

He plopped down the couch and heaved a huge sigh. The whole day had been a mess, too much of a mess – actually, it was a mess up to the point that he couldn't even think of a single reasonable thing behind it. 

Narumi Ayumu's head shot up from the couch as he heard the phone's shrill ringing. It was just now that he noticed that the phone was ringing, since he made no move to notice it before. Nevertheless, he ignored it and continued to lay himself down on the couch, with the intent of resting his legs from the day of intense running. He was sure that even Ryouko wouldn't stand much of a chance against…_that_ kind of a crowd.

The answering machine was activated. 

_'Ano…Narumi-san?'_

This time, his head failed to shoot up from its position at hearing Yuizaki Hiyono's voice. He kind of knew that she was going to call him once he arrived at home. 

_'Eto…I was just wondering if you're feeling okay…if you want, I can come over and cheer you up.'_

Ayumu raised an eyebrow at her statement. She coughed a few times after the word 'up', and that made him suspicious on why she would giggle at such a statement. He then groaned. He should've known she would giggle right after what happened earlier that day.

It was quite confusing for such an intelligent and logical man – er, boy, really. That morning, once he stepped out of his apartment building's lot, someone was following him. And that someone multiplied into several more people once he passed by several blocks. He, adopting a face of calmness, tried to forget about the crowd that was following him. But he grew restless of it, so he started to sneak glances to see who were following him. Were they the Blade Children? 

Ayumu had shaken his head at the thought. It was impossible. The Blade Children weren't stupid. Sending out a horde of people to follow him was a stupid idea. So he just continued on to school, trying not to be bothered by the numerous footsteps following his own. 

Once he was in Tsukiomi Highschool's vicinity however, the pairs of feet increased. He looked around and saw that everyone was staring at him with some kind of…_hunger_ in their eyes. Sweat trickled down his brow. Nervousness clamored over him and he had nothing else to do but run.

"Narumi-san!" 

Ayumu sighed and leaned on the wall, happy that the hungry stares of the students around him disappeared into nothingness…or so he thought. He opened his brown eyes and saw Hiyono standing before him, looking rather flustered. 

He raised an eyebrow at her. 

"Are you okay?" she asked him, voice rather unstable. It seemed that she was uneasy being around him. 

Ayumu replied with a simple nod. "The crowd's been watching me…weirdly." He said, and then he went to get his school shoes. The rest of the morning was uneventful until the school bell rang, and Hiyono seemed to be rather uneasy at the fact that she was going to be separated from him. Of course, with Ayumu's thinking, he did notice such a fact. 

'Was she threatened?' Ayumu thought as he made his way to his classroom. But once he set out to the corridor his room was in, queasiness started to run through him. The people were staring at him again. Like the time they suspected him of pushing Minemiya Kana off the fifth floor…only this time, there was something different about it.

He brushed the stares off and headed to class, sat down on his chair and stared out the window. While doing so, he could still feel the stares of people (namely girls) plastered on the back of his head. 

Ayumu was finally sick of it and turned around, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. As he did so, the girls let out a sigh and they all looked dreamy-eyed at him. 

The rest of the day went so, with the teachers (especially female ones) calling him to stand up and recite more often. Those teachers would often stop by his seat and teach from there, sneaking glances at him; they passed by his aisle countless times; one teacher even…'accidentally' brushed her hand against his cheek. 

He was really uneasy about the said thing, but for some weird reason, he couldn't voice it out. He couldn't tell anyone that it was beginning to eat him inside that so many people would stare at him with… desire. So he wordlessly went to the roof for lunch, relieved that no one practically went up there. 

He was wrong.

Girls were eating on the roof in numerous groups, occupying each inch. They all darted their heads toward him and sighed, screamed and whatever fangirls usually do and stood up to chase him, probably to rip his clothes apart and gaze at his body…er, for personal enjoyment. 

Ayumu ran down the stairs, managing to throw off some of the girls as he threw his lunch box back to them. They went crazy over it, but the other girls weren't distracted – they started to chase after him down the staircase. 

'God no…' Ayumu thought, breath coming out in raspy gasps. 'Why on earth would these girls chase me? Why?' 

He tried to think of a reasonable reason on why these girls were chasing him, screaming his name like 'Narumi-saaaaaaaaamaaaaaaa!!! Narumi-saaaaaaamaaaaa!!!' Now normally Ayumu would get really irritated and cut them off, saying that they were too noisy, but he had the feeling that his life was at stake. So he thought of a better place to hide rather than to stand and turn around, screaming at them for…well, screaming.

'The News Club room wouldn't be a good idea – if they knew that I was going to be on the roof, they would predict that I would run to the Club room. I have to think of something.' Ayumi thought, more beads of sweat trickling down his brow. 'Where can I hide?'

The classroom wouldn't be and would never be a good idea for him. So he decided to hide at the second music room. He quickly snuck himself under the stairwell as he arrived at the first floor, making the girls stop and look for some signs on where he went. 

Once the crowd disappeared down a corridor, he made his way to the music room. But when he arrived, someone was already sitting on one of the chairs. 

The person had spiky red hair, with yellow-tinted glasses covering his green eyes. He had a black shirt under an unfastened uniform and he had his legs crossed before him. He stared at the newcomer amusedly.

"Narumi Kiyotaka no otouto," said Asazuki Kousuke, smirking. "Why are you here?"

Ayumu raised his eyebrow at him. "I should ask you the same question."

"I thought you'd be running here once those fangirls of yours start chasing you down." Kousuke said, standing up from a chair and starting to walk down to the lowest level of the classroom. "I knew you had the brains not to go to the News Club room and you'd run straight here." 

"I don't have the time to be playing another one of your card games here, Asazuki." Ayumu said, still panting as Kousuke approached him. 

"I know," Kousuke murmured, still taking steps closer. Ayumu found this rather disturbing, being held under Kousuke's gaze. He started to back away, backing away until he was against the door, and Kousuke was too close for comfort. 

Kousuke narrowed his eyes. "But we're going to play another game, aren't we…?" 

His breath flickered on Ayumu's face. Ayumu cringed, fumbling blindly for the doorknob, cursing himself for his lack of sense that day. Now Kousuke was really TOO close for comfort, eyes still narrowed to a menacing glare. His fingers finally got hold of the doorknob, and once Kousuke was leaning in for the kiss – um, kill, he managed to get the door open and he stumbled backwards into the hallway where he came from.

"Drat!" he heard Kousuke curse on the other side of the door. "And I was about to have him too!"

Was Kousuke trying to _kiss_ him? Alright, not kiss him, but make a move on him? Kousuke was a _man,_ and he had Ryouko anyway – so why would he bother making a move on Ayumu? Was he connected with the rest of the girls that were chasing him?

Ayumu started to run to the opposite direction, praying to God that lunch break was almost over. "What's the matter with everyone today?!" he murmured angrily, going up a staircase and landing on the second floor. 'By now, those girls would be searching the grounds for me, due to the possibility of them thinking that I left the News Club Room….'

He sighed as he started to walk to the News Club room, wincing slightly as hunger gnawed at his stomach. It would be better for him to lose his lunch to Hiyono rather than to lose his lunch to frantic and drastic (almost horrific) fangirls. 

He was halfway to the room when he heard thundering from the stairs. A crowd of schoolgirls stood at the staircase's base, looking at him, targeting him as if he was prey. 

"There he is!"

And the screams continued. 'Narumi-saaaaamaaaaaa! Narumi-samaaaaaaaa!!!!' they screamed, making him run to the News Club room. He exerted all of his strength, and with a last burst of energy, he managed to throw himself into the room as if he was on a battlefield and land on the floor with a thud. Hiyono stood up from her seat and locked the door behind him.

"Narumi-san, daijoubu?" Hiyono asked, kneeling beside him as he lay on the floor. She tried to ignore the pounding sounds erupting from the wrecked door as Ayumu groaned.

"How come all of these girls are chasing me?" he moaned out, turning his head towards Hiyono in query. Hiyono blushed and for what reason Ayumu did not know, but nevertheless, Hiyono continued to blush as he stared at her. 

"S-shiranai yo, N-narumi-san…" she murmured, voice soft. "But…I…think everything's going to be better soon."

So Ayumu stayed in the News Club room for the rest of the break, lying on the floor to ease himself out of the exhaustion over running all across the school. Besides, he was still shocked by the move Kousuke just did…er…on him.

When the lunch break ended, he warily went back to his classroom and tried to avoid the dreamy stares people were giving him. The rest of the day came out to be just as exhausting as the morning – he was driven to run all throughout the city just to avoid students in trampling him and making him…er…theirs.

_'If you don't answer me…then…I guess I have to go there and check if you're alright.'_

Ayumu arched an eyebrow again and sat up from the couch. Why was Hiyono so worried? He managed to throw off his…stalkers, didn't he? He also managed to come home without any body parts missing, didn't he? _He_ was the one who was supposed to be worried about Hiyono, and not the other way around. Besides, why would Hiyono spend her Friday night there, at his home? Why would she bother…?

The line was cut and silence enveloped their household. Thinking that Hiyono couldn't be possibly serious about her coming to his house, he decked himself with his orange baseball t-shirt and pants, adding on fluffy orange slippers. 

The night started to settle itself over the city, and by the time Ayumu got back from shopping for dinner, people were already inside his home. 

He dropped his groceries to the floor and slinked along the wall, trying to see if the people were robbers or anything of the sort. But once he let the door open just a little bit, he saw a mop of brown hair braided into two. Ayumu's brown eyes widened for a moment, but then he went back to retrieve the groceries and enter his house.

"—I'm sure he'd be here just in a jiffy." Madoka was saying. "Oh there you are! Ayumu!" 

Hiyono's cheeks were colored pink as she turned around slightly to acknowledge his presence. Ayumu did nothing though – he proceeded towards the counter to make dinner. 

"How come you're here?" Ayumu suddenly asked, eyes peering onto Hiyono. 

"I told you I was going to come by to check up on you." Hiyono replied. "You didn't take me seriously? I'm hurt." She added in a mock-hurt voice. Madoka giggled at the sight. 

Ayumu ignored the chitchat of the two women in the house – he continued cook, with the orange apron hanging from his neck. 

Hiyono rested her chin on her hand as Madoka stood up, saying some excuse as she had to go somewhere to solve some case. Apparently Ayumu didn't hear her, or probably he just didn't care. The next thing Hiyono and Ayumu knew was that Madoka was gone and that they'd have to eat dinner together…alone.

To be honest, Hiyono was completely nervous for some reason. Not that this was her first time to eat with Ayumu alone; there was just something weird and nerve-wracking for this little dinner. Back then, curry was also the dish Ayumu served – but she didn't mind. Just to know that he worked hard for that curry and that it tasted like heaven was enough – actually more than enough, it was bliss – for her.

She let out a sigh as she stared at Ayumu, small beads of sweat trickling down his temple. God, what she would give to be the one to wipe them away. Sure, it's just sweat, but it still came from Ayumu. Call her stupid for wanting to wipe Ayumu's sweat, but it still meant something to her. 

"Narumi-san?" she suddenly said, making Ayumu's eyes stray away from the pot. 

"Nani?" 

"Does anyone else call you by your first name?" 

Ayumu thought about the answer before replying. "Right now, only Nee-san calls me by my name. My brother used to call me by name too." 

A slight smile spread across Hiyono's lips. She'd be so happy to utter his name to call him. It'd roll of her tongue, tasting so sweet, and her voice finally pronouncing the name 'Ayumu-kun'. Ayumu-kun…. It'd be much more interesting rather than 'Narumi-san', although 'Narumi-san' had an authoritative effect to it. 

"Why did you ask?" 

Ayumu's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Iie, nandemonai desu, Narumi-san."

She sighed again, this time inaudibly. She watched him pay his attention back to the pot.

Hiyono suddenly thought of an absurd thing. Well, if you call fantasizing absurd, then well, what she thought was absurd. 

'I wonder if we'd look like this if we're married.'

Hiyono's cheeks were suddenly tinged with red as she kept her eyes on Ayumu. He'd be cooking at night, looking simply gorgeous in his apron, looking more alluring than ever. She didn't really know why she was so attracted to Ayumu – she was older than him, anyway – but there was something about him that she just couldn't resist. Maybe it was the fact that he knew how to cook (not to mention that his dishes are heavenly in taste). Maybe it was the fact that he looked SO good in an apron while Eyes Rutherford would simply be out of place in one. Maybe it was the fact that he has no knowledge of his…er…good-looks. 

Maybe it was all of those reasons, or maybe there were even more. Hiyono didn't mind. As long as she was with him, she knew it was okay. 

The phone started to ring. Hiyono suppressed a dreamy sigh as he answered the phone in his hypnotizing voice.

_'Otouto-san?'_

Hiyono raised an eyebrow. The voice was small and she was sure it wasn't her that was calling. Then who was? Who was the girl – member of the Blade Children, rather – that had the thought of calling Ayumu at home? She really didn't and wasn't supposed to care, but she got jealous for some reason.

"Takeuchi?" Ayumu asked. The girl giggled.

_'Sou desu. Can I please come over? I just have the feeling that I have to.'_

"Is there a problem?" 

_'Nothing really. I wanted to check up on you. Ryouko's coming as well.'_

Ayumu's brown eyes narrowed in suspicion. 'Takeuchi could be planning something with Takamachi…I wonder…but they don't sound as if they mean harm….' His eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. 'They could always act though…'

He then shook his head, convincing himself that he turned too paranoid. 

Takeuchi Rio then hung up and promised that she would be there in ten minutes or so. Normally, Ayumu would check whether there were going to be bomb or death threats or whatsoever coming to their way, but weirdly enough to Hiyono, he didn't. 

Hiyono glared at the phone. What could they want with _her_ Narumi? They already had their Narumi – Narumi Kiyotaka, that is. They should just leave Narumi Ayumu to her. 

…right?

*~*~*~*~*

Author's notes: Comments? Suggestions? I'd be happy to hear them. Please R&R!

A. Pikachu


End file.
